Filing is done. The inbox is quieter. Before you exhale and move on, this is the single most valuable window of the year to get your financial house in order, while the numbers are still fresh.
The post-tax season lull is a rare gift for DPC owners. You have real data from last year, fresh context on what hurt, and 8+ months before the next filing crunch. If you spend these 30 days intentionally, you can cut next year’s tax bill, shore up cash flow, and build the kind of financial clarity that makes running a practice feel less like guesswork.
Here’s what we recommend DPC owners focus on right now.
- Review your actual profit margin, not your gut feeling
Pull your 2025 P&L and calculate your true net margin. Most DPC practices run on recurring membership revenue, which means monthly numbers can feel stable even when expenses are quietly creeping up. Compare this year’s overhead against last year’s. Are staffing costs, EHR subscriptions, or supply costs outpacing revenue growth? The post-tax season is when patterns become obvious, use them.
- Max out your retirement contributions before it’s an afterthought
This is the biggest missed opportunity we see. A Solo 401(k) lets DPC owners contribute up to $70,000 for 2025, $23,500 as employee deferral plus up to 25% of W-2 compensation as employer profit-sharing. For owners 50 and older, add $7,500 in catch-up contributions. Those aged 60–63 get an enhanced catch-up of $11,250 under SECURE 2.0. For a practice owner in the 37% bracket, a $70K contribution saves roughly $25,900 in federal taxes alone. If you haven’t maxed out yet, there may still be time, SEP IRA contributions can often be made up until your extended return deadline.
⚠️ 2026 HSA Update Worth Knowing
Starting January 1, 2026, DPC memberships no longer disqualify patients from contributing to an HSA, a major shift under H.R. 1 (the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”). If your patients are on HDHPs, this is a talking point worth adding to your member communications now. It may accelerate growth.
- Revisit your entity structure
Many DPC practices haven’t reviewed their S-Corp vs. sole proprietor structure since opening. If your net income grew meaningfully in 2025, an S-Corp election can significantly reduce self-employment taxes by splitting income between a reasonable W-2 salary and distributions. The tradeoff: S-Corp wages also set the ceiling for SEP IRA contributions, so this needs to be modeled carefully, not just assumed. Now is the right time to run the numbers with your CPA before Q3 estimated taxes are due.
- Set your Q3 and Q4 estimated tax payments
With last year’s income as a baseline, recalibrate your quarterly payments. Underpaying leads to penalties; overpaying means you’ve given the IRS an interest-free loan. If your 2025 net income grew, your 2026 safe harbor needs to reflect that. Map out your estimated payments for June 16, September 15, and January 15 now, before they sneak up.
- Audit your deductible expenses and look ahead to 2026
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act permanently restored 100% bonus depreciation for qualifying equipment purchased after January 19, 2025. If you’re planning to upgrade diagnostic tools, computers, or office equipment, consider accelerating those purchases into 2026 and capturing the full deduction in the current year rather than depreciating over 7 years. A $50,000 piece of equipment bought this year could mean $17,500+ in immediate tax savings at the 35% rate. Make a list of anticipated capital purchases now and plan timing with intent.
- Check your panel health metrics and revenue per member
The average DPC practice carries a panel of about 413 patients, per AAFP data. Do you know your revenue per member, your churn rate, and what percentage of your panel has been with you 2+ years? Post-tax season is a good time to look at membership trends: if you lost members in Q1, is there a pattern? Did you raise fees? Did a local employer contract lapse? Financial and operational data sit together, so the next 30 days are the right time to connect them.
- Have a real conversation with your CPA, not just at tax time
DPC is still a young enough model that many generalist accountants don’t understand its nuances: the recurring revenue structure, employer-sponsored membership dynamics, the HSA interaction post-OBBBA, or how to optimize an S-Corp salary alongside retirement contributions. If your current CPA isn’t familiar with DPC, now is the time to find one who is, or at minimum, to schedule a proactive mid-year planning meeting rather than waiting until December.
Work with a CPA who knows DPC
Goodman CPA specializes in accounting and tax strategy for DPC practice owners. From entity structuring and retirement planning to mid-year check-ins, we help you stop overpaying and start planning. Schedule a consultation today.
Sources: AAFP 2024 DPC Data Brief · DPC Frontier: Tax Treatment · IRS Retirement Plans for Self-Employed · Journal of General Internal Medicine: DPC Financial Analysis (2025)